Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-12-19
CHEER AND DIE.
Some Disastrous Amusements Bring
Down Death Upon the Heads of
Those Who Practice Them.
Tters is q Lawful Use OF the World as
WSIl as an Unlawful Abuse Of
It's Pleasures.
Writ OF FL sctment Served Upon au Sin
full and Polluted Squatters on the Do
main CT Earthly Pleasure.
REcREArIoNs GOOD AND BAD.

special to the Gazette.
BROOKLYN, n. z, Dec. Is AT the
8 tabernacle this morning the whole con-
gregation sang the hymn beginning:
The hill of Zion yields
a thousand sacred swests
Before we reach tho heavenly fields
Or walk the golden streets.y
The Rev. T. Dewitt Talnage, D. D.,
preached on "Recreations Good and
Bad" taking two texts: l Corinthians,
chapter z, verse 81: "They that use this
word, as not abusing IT." and Judges,
chspter Is, verse 25: "And it came to
p.ss, when their hearts we're merry, that
they said, call for Samson, that he may
make US sport. And they called for
Samson out of the prison house; and he
made them sport" DR.. Telmage said:
We are entering the gaYest season OF
the yesr. The winter opens before US the
gates of a thousand amusements, some of
them good and some bad. One Of my
texts will show you that amusements
msy be destructive, my other text will
show you that smusements may be under
the Divine blessing and direction.
There were 5000 people assembled in
he temple OF Dagon. They had come to
make sport of eyeless Samson. They
we're all ready for the entertainment.
They began to clap and pound, impatient
for the amusement to begin, and they
cried, "Fetch him out, Fetch him out!n
Yonder l see the blind old giant coming,
led by the hand of child into the very
midst of the temple. At his first appear
snce there goes up q shout OF laughter
snd derision. The blind old giant pre-
tends he is tired, and wants to rest him
self against the pillars Of the house; so he
ssys to the lad who leads him,
"ShoW me where the main pillars are."
The lad does so. Then the strong man
puts his right hand on one pillar and his
left hand on another pillar, and, with the
mightiest push that mortal ever made,
throws himself forward until the whole
house comes down in thunderous crash,
grinding the audience like grapes in 8
Rine-press. "And so it came to psss,
when their hearts were merry, that they
said, Call for Samson, that he may make
Us sport. And they called for Samson out
Of the prison house; and he made them
sport.''
In other words: There are amusements
that are destructive, and bring down
DISASTER AND DEATH
upon the heads OF those who practice
them. While they laugh and cheer, they
fie. The 5000 who persisted that day in
G8za are IS nothing compared with the
tens of thousands who have been de-
stroyed by sinful smusements.
But the other text have read implies
that there ia a lawful use of the world as
well IS en- unlawful abuse of it, and the
difference between the man Christian and
the man unChristian is that in the former
case the man masters the world, while in
the latter case the world masters him
For whom did God make this grand and
beautiful world? For whom this wonder
full expenditure of color, this graceful
ness Of line, this mosaic of the ground,
this fresco Of the sky, this glowing fruit
age of orchard and vineyard, this full
orchestra of the tempest, in which
the tree branches flute, and the
winds trumpet, and the thunders drum,
and all the splendors of earth and sky
come clsshing their cymbsls? For whom
did God spring the arched bridge of col
Ors resting upon buttresses Of broken
storm cloud? For whom did he gather
the upholstery of fire around the window
Of the setting sun? For all men, but
more especially for his own dear chill
dren.
II you build large mansion and spread
great feast after it TO celebrate the
completion of the structure, do you allow
strangers to come in and occupy the
place while you thrust your own children
in the kitchen or the barn or the fields?
"0h, no." you say, az am very glad to
nSr irN hr1f mn
sons and daughters shall have the first
right there" Now God has built this
grand mansion of a world, and he has
spread 8 glorious feast in it; and while
those who are strangers to His grace may
come in, think that God especially in
tends to give the advantage to His own
children, those who are The sons and the
daughters of the Lord Almighty, those
who through grsce can look up and say,
ABBA, Father" You connot make me
believe that God gives more advantages to
the world than He gives to the church
bought by his own blood. II, therefore,
people CT the world have looked with do
lOrous sympathy upon those who make
Profession of religion, and have said:
Those new converts are going down
into privatiOn and into hardship. Why
OId HUI lucy LSIA5 1AbtiO AohSS1
IN the world, and have some of its enjoy
ments and amusements and recreations7"
l say TO such men of the world, "You are
greatly Mistaken" and before l get
through I will show that those people who
stsy out of the kingdom of God have the
hsrdships and self denisls, while those
who come in have the joys and the salts
factions.
This morning, in tie name OF the King
OF heaven and earth, serve writ OF
e!ectment upon all the sinful and pollut-
ed who have squatted on the domain OF
earthly pleasure SIS though it belonged to
them, while claim, in behalf Of the good
and the pure and the true, the eternal in
heritance which God hss given them.
Hitherto, Christian philanthroptsts,
clerical and lay, have busted themselves
Chiefly IN denouncing sinful recrestions;
but feel we have no right to stand before
men and women in whose hearts there is
desire for recreation amounting to pos
Tive necessity, denouncIng this and that
and the other thing, when we do not pro-
pose to give them something better. God
helping me this morning, and with refer
ence TO my last account, shall enter upon
esphere not usual IN sermonizlng, but
subject which | think ought to be pre-